Why you must sell at Level 4

With product and service quality becoming more similar, the effectiveness of the salesperson is having a greater influence on the customer’s decision to buy.

This short video sets out four levels of salesperson effectiveness, to help guide you and your team towards adding more value for your customer.

Learn more about LDL sales training.

Because products and services are becoming more and more alike, the customer now ranks salesperson effectiveness above product quality and features.

i.e. how we sell is becoming the differentiator. And it is useful to investigate the four levels of sales team effectiveness. Each level adds more value for the customer, so as we move towards Level 4 we are much more likely to win the business.

The Four Levels of Salesperson Effectiveness

Level 1 salespeople, they sell products and services, the talking brochure. There is not a lot of point in being a Level 1 salesperson in this marketplace. So they’re pretty well redundant, they’ve been superseded by the Internet.

Level 2 salespeople add value by offering good customer service, a great brand experience.

Level 3 salespeople add value by solving problems. This is the consultative solution-selling approach which is the benchmark for Business to Business sales.

And therein lies the challenge, because as more and more sales teams become expert in Level 3, it’s hard for them to differentiate themselves. We need to add value, we need to go to Level 4.

Level 4 sales teams go that one step further. They act as a PARTNER. They are viewed by the customer as part of their management team. They bring the customer new ideas, new ways, new insights as to how they can run their business more effectively and more profitably.

They move from Level 3 solution selling to Level 4 insight selling, and Level 4 sales teams add the most value so they invariably end up winning the most sales.

Are You Selling at Level 4?

A great test as to whether or not you are operating at Level 4 is to ask yourself: Would your customer still hire you as a consultant if you no longer had your product or service to sell?

That’s a tough question, but if you’re able to answer yes to that from time to time, it means you’re operating at Level 4.

Learn more about LDL sales training.